Peak time power saving

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and devices enabling peak time power savings are disclosed. An indication of a peak usage period may be processed, the indication received by a television receiver from a service provider. A power savings mode may be selected from operating modes based at least in part on the indication. Configuration information related to the power savings mode may be processed. The television receiver may be configured according to the configuration information related to the power savings mode at a first time corresponding to the peak usage period. The television receiver may operate in conformity with the power savings mode after the first time. The television receiver may be configured according to a second operating mode at a second time after the first time. The television receiver may operate in conformity with the second operating mode after the second time corresponding to the peak usage period.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/202,290, filed Mar. 10, 2014, entitled “PEAK TIME POWER SAVING,”which claims priority to U.S. provisional application 61/790,753, filedMar. 15, 2013, entitled “PEAK TIME POWER SAVING,” the entire disclosuresof which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates in general to television devices, and,more specifically, but not by way of limitation, to systems and methodsfor managing television receiver power consumption.

Television viewers have come to expect the ability to customize andmanage their television receivers according to their preferences. Ingeneral, power consumption of a particular television receiver as itstands alone may not be of primary concern for the customer. However,power consumption may be of concern during peak usage periods, such asduring the Super Bowl, when a large portion of the customer base may beusing their respective equipment.

There is a need for solutions to address such a problem and relatedproblems.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Certain embodiments of the present disclosure relate in general totelevision devices, and, more specifically, but not by way oflimitation, to systems and methods for managing television receiverpower consumption.

In one aspect, a method enabling peak time power savings is disclosed. Atelevision receiver may perform any one or combination of the following.An indication of a peak usage period may be processed. The indicationmay be received by a television receiver from a service provider via anetwork. The peak usage period may correspond to television receiverusage of a plurality of television receivers in a media contentdistribution system. A power savings mode may be selected from aplurality of operating modes based at least in part on the indicationreceived by the television receiver from the service provider.Configuration information related to the power savings mode may beprocessed. The television receiver may be configured according to theconfiguration information related to the power savings mode at a firsttime corresponding to the peak usage period. The television receiver mayoperate in conformity with the power savings mode after the first timecorresponding to the peak usage period. The television receiver may beconfigured according to a second operating mode of the plurality ofoperating modes at a second time corresponding to the peak usage periodafter the first time corresponding to the peak usage period. Thetelevision receiver may operate in conformity with the second operatingmode after the second time corresponding to the peak usage period.

In another aspect, a television receiver that enables peak time powersavings is disclosed. The television receiver may include one or moreprocessors and a memory communicatively coupled with and readable by theone or more processors and having stored therein processor-readableinstructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, causethe one or more processors to perform any one or combination of thefollowing. An indication of a peak usage period may be processed. Theindication may be received by a television receiver from a serviceprovider via a network. The peak usage period may correspond totelevision receiver usage of a plurality of television receivers in amedia content distribution system. A power savings mode may be selectedfrom a plurality of operating modes based at least in part on theindication received by the television receiver from the serviceprovider. Configuration information related to the power savings modemay be processed. The television receiver may be configured according tothe configuration information related to the power savings mode at afirst time corresponding to the peak usage period. The televisionreceiver may operate in conformity with the power savings mode after thefirst time corresponding to the peak usage period. The televisionreceiver may be configured according to a second operating mode of theplurality of operating modes at a second time corresponding to the peakusage period after the first time corresponding to the peak usageperiod. The television receiver may operate in conformity with thesecond operating mode after the second time corresponding to the peakusage period.

In yet another aspect, a non-transitory processor-readable mediumincluding processor-readable instructions is disclosed. Theprocessor-readable instructions, when executed by one or moreprocessors, may cause the one or more processors to perform any one orcombination of the following. An indication of a peak usage period maybe processed. The indication may be received by a television receiverfrom a service provider via a network. The peak usage period maycorrespond to television receiver usage of a plurality of televisionreceivers in a media content distribution system. A power savings modemay be selected from a plurality of operating modes based at least inpart on the indication received by the television receiver from theservice provider. Configuration information related to the power savingsmode may be processed. The television receiver may be configuredaccording to the configuration information related to the power savingsmode at a first time corresponding to the peak usage period. Thetelevision receiver may operate in conformity with the power savingsmode after the first time corresponding to the peak usage period. Thetelevision receiver may be configured according to a second operatingmode of the plurality of operating modes at a second time correspondingto the peak usage period after the first time corresponding to the peakusage period. The television receiver may operate in conformity with thesecond operating mode after the second time corresponding to the peakusage period.

Certain embodiments may include one or a combination of the following.The first time corresponding to the peak usage period may be prior tothe peak usage period. The second time corresponding to the peak usageperiod may be after the peak usage period. The television receiver mayoperate in conformity with the second operating mode prior to the firsttime corresponding to the peak usage period. The indication of the peakusage period may be pushed to the television receiver by the serviceprovider. The indication of the peak usage period may be pulled by thetelevision receiver from the service provider. The first timecorresponding to the peak usage period may be determined based at leastin part on the indication received by the television receiver from theservice provider. The first time corresponding to the peak usage periodmay be determined based at least in part on the indication received bythe television receiver from the service provider and programminginformation. The first time corresponding to the peak usage period andthe second time corresponding to the peak usage period may be determinedbased at least in part on the indication received by the televisionreceiver from the service provider.

Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will becomeapparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It shouldbe understood that the detailed description and specific examples, whileindicating various embodiments, are intended for purposes ofillustration only and are not intended to necessarily limit the scope ofthe disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of variousembodiments may be realized by reference to the following figures. Inthe appended figures, similar components or features may have the samereference label. Further, various components of the same type may bedistinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a secondlabel that distinguishes among the similar components. When only thefirst reference label is used in the specification, the description isapplicable to any one of the similar components having the same firstreference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 shows an example media content distribution system in whichaspects of the present disclosure may be implemented, in accordance withcertain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows a simplified block diagram of a television receiver of FIG.1, in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows an example method for enabling peak time power savings, inaccordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows an example method for enabling peak time power savings, inaccordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows an example computing system or device, in accordance withcertain embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure is directed to systems and methods for managingtelevision receiver power consumption. In general, power consumption ofa particular television receiver as it stands alone may not be ofprimary concern for the customer. However, power consumption may be ofconcern during peak usage periods, such as during the Super Bowl, when alarge portion of the customer base may be using their respectiveequipment. The concern may stem from the presence of a collective power“wasting,” where a large number of television receivers may be usingresources that may not necessarily be required to be used during thepeak usage period. In accordance with certain embodiments of the presentdisclosure, a television receiver may enter a power saving or savingsconfiguration or mode whereby the television receiver may identify apeak usage period and reconfigure itself in an attempt to reduce powerconsumption.

For example, a particular television receiver may disable a networkconnection during a peak usage period, when the network connection isnot necessary or not being used. In another example, a particulartelevision receiver may reschedule a recording if possible during a peakusage period so that it could power down a particular tuner and/ordemodulator, and also limit access to its hard disk. In general, aparticular television receiver may disable, power down, etc., anyparticular software and/or hardware resource as desired withoutnecessarily impacting on the user experience. In this manner, aparticular television receiver may be configured to intelligently manageits resources during peak usage periods. The cumulative savings may besubstantial when a large portion of the customer base has similarlyconfigured television receiver equipment. For example, if 3 millioncustomers having television receivers configured to intelligently manageresources in accordance with the present disclosure were to disablenon-essential resources during the Super Bowl, a substantive power“savings” may be realized. Other embodiments are possible.

In some embodiments, a television receiver configured to intelligentlymanage resources in accordance with the present disclosure may beinformed of a potential upcoming peak usage period, and then televisionreceiver may implement a power savings mode to apply power savingsmeasures during the potential upcoming peak usage period. For example, aservice provider may broadcast preferred configuration information toall accessible television receivers so the same may properly configurethemselves during the upcoming peak usage period. In another example,the television receiver itself may be configured to periodically or atleast intermittently access a server over a network to identifypotential upcoming peak usage periods. Other embodiments are possible.

In some embodiments, a television receiver configured to intelligentlymanage resources in accordance with the present disclosure may beconfigured to allow a customer or user to select a type of power savingsmode or configuration. For example, a user may be enabled to select a“high” power savings configuration, a “medium” power savingsconfiguration, or a “low” power savings configuration for an upcomingpeak usage period. In this example, a “high” power savings configurationmay specify a greater number of resources that are to be disabled,powered down, etc., when compared to “medium” power savingsconfiguration and the “low” power savings configuration. In thisexample, the “low” power savings configuration may not be a powersavings configuration at all. In this manner, some granularity may beprovided in terms of power savings modes or configurations for peakusage periods. Other embodiments are possible.

In some embodiments, a television receiver configured to intelligentlymanage resources in accordance with the present disclosure may beconfigured to implement a particular power savings configuration foreach one of number television receivers within a home network. Forexample, a primary television receiver located in a living room may besubject to a first power savings configuration for a particular peakusage period, and a secondary television receiver located in a bedroommay be subject to a second power savings configuration for theparticular peak usage period. For example, the secondary televisionreceiver may be substantially powered down during the Super Bowl,whereas all resources of the primary television receiver may be enabledduring the Super Bowl. Other embodiments are possible.

In some embodiments, a television receiver configured to intelligentlymanage resources in accordance with the present disclosure may beconfigured to surface to a user power savings information. For example,on a monthly-basis a particular television receiver may output a userinterface or display that lists power saving for the particular month(e.g., “You conserved 100 Watts in January”). Along with power savings,the particular television receiver may output a user interface ordisplay that lists a dollar amount associated with power savings for theparticular month (e.g., “You saved $20 in January”).

Referring now to FIG. 1 an example media content distribution system 100is shown in which aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented.For brevity, the system 100 is depicted in a simplified and conceptualform, and may generally include more or fewer systems, devices,networks, and/or other components as desired. Further, number and typeof features or elements incorporated within the system 100 may or maynot be implementation-specific, and at least some of the aspects of thesystem 100 may be similar to a cable television distribution system, anIPTV (Internet Protocol Television) content distribution system, and/orany other type of media or content distribution system.

The example system 100 may include a service provider 102, a satelliteuplink 104, a plurality of orbiting (e.g., geosynchronous) satellites106 a-c, a satellite dish 108, a PTR (Primary Television Receiver) 110,a plurality of secondary television receivers 112 a-b, a plurality oftelevisions 114 a-c, and a plurality of computing devices 116 a-b. Insome embodiments, the PTR 110 may include a PM service 115 configured tomanage television receiver power consumption in accordance with thepresent disclosure.

The system 100 may also include at least one network 120 thatestablishes a bi-directional communication path for data transferbetween and among the PTR 110, secondary television receivers 112 a-b,televisions 114 a-c, and computing devices 116 a-b of the example system100. In some embodiments, the network 120 may further establish abi-directional communication path (not shown) for data transfer betweenthe PTR 110 and the service provider 102. The network 120 is intended torepresent any number of terrestrial and/or non-terrestrial networkfeatures or elements. For example, the network 120 may incorporate orexhibit any number of features or elements of various wireless and/orhardwired packet-based communication networks such as, for example, aWAN (Wide Area Network) network, a HAN (Home Area Network) network, aLAN (Local Area Network) network, a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)network, the Internet, a cellular communications network, and/or anyother type of communication network(s) configured such that data may betransferred between and among respective elements of the example system100.

The PTR 110, and the secondary television receivers 112 a-b, asdescribed throughout may generally be any type of television receiver,such as a STB (Set Top Box) for example. In another example, the PTR110, and the secondary television receivers 112 a-b, may exhibitfunctionality integrated as part of or into a television, a DVR, acomputing device, such as a tablet computing device, or any othercomputing system or device, as well as variations thereof. Further, thePTR 110 and the network 120, together with the secondary televisionreceivers 112 a-b, televisions 114 a-c, and computing devices 116 a-b,may form at least a portion of a particular home computing network, andmay each be respectively configured such as to enable communications inaccordance with any particular communication protocol(s) and/orstandard(s) including, for example, TCP/IP (Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol), DLNA/DTCP-IP (Digital Living NetworkAlliance/Digital Transmission Copy Protection over Internet Protocol),HDMI/HDCP (High-Definition Multimedia Interface/High-Bandwidth DigitalContent Protection), etc.

In practice, the satellites 106 a-c may be configured to receive uplinksignals 122 a-b from the satellite uplink 104. In this example, theuplink signals 122 a-b may contain one or more transponder streams ofparticular data or content, such as particular television channel, thatis supplied by the service provider 102. For example, each of therespective uplink signals 122 a-b may contain various media content sucha plurality of encoded HD (High Definition) television channels, variousSD (Standard Definition) television channels, on-demand programming,programming information, and/or any other content in the form of atleast one transponder stream, and in accordance with an allotted carrierfrequency and bandwidth. In this example, different media content may becarried using different ones of the satellites 106 a-c. Further,different media content may be carried using different transponders of aparticular satellite (e.g., satellite 106 a); thus, such media contentmay be transmitted at different frequencies and/or different frequencyranges. For example, a first and second television channel may becarried on a first carrier frequency over a first transponder ofsatellite 106 a, and a third, fourth, and fifth television channel maybe carried on second carrier frequency over a first transponder ofsatellite 106 b, or, the third, fourth, and fifth television channel maybe carried on a second carrier frequency over a second transponder ofsatellite 106 a, and etc.

The satellites 106 a-c may further be configured to relay the uplinksignals 122 a-b to the satellite dish 108 as downlink signals 124 a-b.Similar to the uplink signals 122 a-b, each of the downlink signals 124a-b may contain one or more transponder streams of particular data orcontent, such as various encoded and/or at least partiallyelectronically scrambled television channels, on-demand programming,etc., in accordance with an allotted carrier frequency and bandwidth.The downlink signals 124 a-b, however, may not necessarily contain thesame or similar content as a corresponding one of the uplink signals 122a-b. For example, the uplink signal 122 a may include a firsttransponder stream containing at least a first group or grouping oftelevision channels, and the downlink signal 124 a may include a secondtransponder stream containing at least a second, different group orgrouping of television channels. In other examples, the first and secondgroup of television channels may have one or more television channels incommon. In sum, there may be varying degrees of correlation between theuplink signals 122 a-b and the downlink signals 124 a-b, both in termsof content and underlying characteristics.

Continuing with the example implementation scenario, the satellite dish108 may be provided for use to receive television channels, such as on asubscription basis, provided by the service provider 102, satelliteuplink 104, and/or satellites 106 a-c. For example, the satellite dish108 may be configured to receive particular transponder streams, ordownlink signals 124 a-b, from one or more of the satellites 106 a-c.Based on the characteristics of the PTR 110 and/or satellite dish 108,however, it may only be possible to capture transponder streams from alimited number of transponders concurrently. For example, a tuner of thePTR 110 may only be able to tune to a single transponder stream from atransponder of a single satellite, such as satellite 106 a, at a time.

Additionally, the PTR 110, which is communicatively coupled to thesatellite dish 108, may subsequently select via tuner (see e.g., FIG.3), decode, and relay particular transponder streams to the television114 c for display thereon. For example, the satellite dish 108 and thePTR 110 may, respectively, be configured to receive, decode, and relayat least one premium HD-formatted television channel to the television114 c. Programming or content associated with the HD channel maygenerally be presented “live,” or from a recording as previously storedon, by, or at the PTR 110. In this example, the HD channel may be outputto the television 114 c in accordance with the HDMI/HDCP contentprotection technologies. Other embodiments are possible. For example, insome embodiments, the HD channel may be output to the television 114 cin accordance with the MoCA® (Multimedia over Coax Alliance) homeentertainment networking standard. Still other embodiments are possible.

Further, the PTR 110 may select via tuner, decode, and relay particulartransponder streams to one or both of the secondary television receivers112 a-b, which may in turn relay particular transponder streams to acorresponding one of the television 114 a and the television 114 a fordisplay thereon. For example, the satellite dish 108 and the PTR 110may, respectively, be configured to receive, decode, and relay at leastone television channel to the television 114 a by way of the secondarytelevision receiver 112 a. Similar to the above example, the televisionchannel may generally be presented “live,” or from a recording aspreviously stored on the PTR 110, and may be output to the television114 a by way of the secondary television receiver 112 a in accordancewith a particular content protection technology and/or networkingstandard. Other embodiments are possible.

Still further, the satellite dish 108 and the PTR 110 may, respectively,be configured to receive, decode, and relay at least one premiumtelevision channel to one or both of the computing devices 116 a-b.Similar to the above-examples, the television channel may generally bepresented “live,” or from a recording as previously stored on the PTR110, and may be output to one or both of the computing devices 116 a-bin accordance with a particular content protection technology and/ornetworking standard. Other embodiments are possible.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a simplified block diagram of the PTR 110 ofFIG. 1 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure. In someembodiments, at least one of the secondary television receivers 112 a-bmay be configured in a manner similar to that of the PTR 110. In otherembodiments, at least one of the secondary television receivers 112 a-bmay be configured to exhibit a reduced functionality as compared to thePTR 110, and may depend at least to a certain degree on the PTR 110 toimplement certain features or functionality. In this example, at leastone of the secondary television receivers 112 a-b may be referred to asa “thin client.”

For brevity, the PTR 110 is depicted in a simplified and conceptualform, and may generally include more or fewer elements or components asdesired in accordance with the present disclosure. Additionally,although not explicitly shown in FIG. 2, the PTR 110 may include one ormore logical modules configured to implement a television steaming mediafunctionality that encodes video into a particular format fortransmission over the Internet such as to allow users to remotely viewand control a home cable, satellite, or personal video recorder systemfrom an Internet-enabled computer with a broadband Internet connection.The Slingbox® by Sling Media, Inc. of Foster City, Calif., is oneexample of a product that implements such functionality. Additionally,the PTR 110 may be configured to include any number of other variouscomponents or logical modules that are implemented in hardware,software, firmware, or any combination thereof, and such components orlogical modules may or may not be implementation-specific.

In some embodiments, the PTR 110 and/or the secondary televisionreceivers 112 a-b comprise of a STB. In addition to being in the form ofan STB, at least the PTR 110 may be incorporated into another device,such as the television 114 c. For example, the television 114 c may havean integrated television receiver that does not involve an external STBbeing coupled with the television 114 c. A STB may contain some or allof the components of the PTR 110 and/or may be able to perform some orall of the functions of the PTR 110. Accordingly, instances in thisdocument referring to a STB, and steps being performed by a STB, mayalso be performed, more generally, by the PTR 110 and/or secondarytelevision receivers 112 a-b.

Referring still to FIG. 2, the PTR 110 may include the PM service 115configured to manage television receiver power consumption in accordancewith the present disclosure, at least one processor 202, including acentral processor 202 a and a control processor 202 b, a plurality oftuners 204 a-c, at least one network interface 206, at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium 208, at least one EPGdatabase 210, at least one television interface 212, at least one NIT(Networking Information Table) 214, at least one DVR database 216, atleast one user interface 218, at least one PID filter 220, at least onesmart card 222, at least one descrambling engine 224, at least one PMT(Program Map Table) 226, at least one decoder 228, and a cataloguedatabase 230. In other embodiments of the PTR 110, fewer or greaternumbers of components may be present. Further, functionality of one ormore components may be combined; for example, functions of thedescrambling engine 224 may be performed by the central processor 202 a.Still further, functionality of components may be spread amongadditional components. For example, the PID filter 220 may be handled byhardware and/or software separate from the PMT 226.

The processor 202 may include one or more specialized and/orgeneral-purpose processors configured to perform processes such astuning to a particular channel, accessing and displaying EPG informationfrom the EPG database 210, and/or receiving and processing input from auser. For example, processor 202 may include one or more processorsdedicated to decoding video signals from a particular format, such asMPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group), for output and display on atelevision and for performing decryption.

The control processor 202 b may communicate with the central processor202 a. The control processor 202 b may control the recording oftelevision channels based on timers stored in the DVR database 216. Thecontrol processor 202 b may initiate recording of a television channelby sending a record command along with an indication of the televisionchannel to be recorded to the central processor 202 a. The controlprocessor 202 b may not send a second record command, when additionalrecording is to begin at the same time, until an acknowledgement thatrecording of the first television channel has successfully been receivedand initiated by the central processor 202 a. The control processor 202b may also provide commands to the central processor 202 a whenrecording of a television channel is to cease. In addition to providingcommands relating to the recording of television channels, the controlprocessor 202 b may provide commands to the central processor 202 a thatindicate television channels to be output to the decoder 228 for outputto a presentation device, such as the television 114 c for example.

The control processor 202 b may also communicate with the networkinterface 206 and the user interface 218. The control processor 202 bmay handle in-coming data from the network interface 206 and the userinterface 218. Additionally, the control processor 202 b may beconfigured to output data via the network interface 206.

The tuners 204 a-c may be used to tune to television channels, such astelevision channels transmitted via satellite or cable, such assatellites 106 a-c. Each respective one of the tuner 204 a-c may becapable of receiving and processing a single stream of data from asatellite transponder, or a cable RF channel, at a given time. As such,a single tuner may tune to a single transponder or, for a cable network,a single cable RF channel. Additionally, one tuner (e.g., tuner 204 a)may be used to tune to a television channel on a first transponderstream for display using a television, while another tuner (e.g., tuner204 b) may be used to tune to a television channel on a secondtransponder for recording and viewing at some other time. Still anothertuner (e.g., tuner 204 c) may be used to check various televisionchannels to determine if they are available or not. If multipletelevision channels transmitted on the same transponder stream aredesired, a particular tuner (e.g., tuner 204 a) may be used to receivethe signal containing the multiple television channels for presentationand/or recording. The tuners 204 a-c may receive commands from thecentral processor 202 a. Such commands may instruct the tuners 204 a-cwhich frequencies are to be used for tuning.

The network interface 206 may be used to communicate via an alternatecommunication channel with a television service provider. For example,the primary communication channel may be via satellite, which may beunidirectional to the STB, and the alternate communication channel,which may be bi-directional, may be via a network, such as the Internet.The PTR 110 may be able to communicate with the service provider 102 ofFIG. 1 via a network, such as the Internet. This communication may bebidirectional. For example, data may be transmitted from the PTR 110 tothe service provider 102, and from the service provider 102 to the PTR110. The network interface 206 may be configured to communicate via oneor more networks, such as the Internet, to communicate with the serviceprovider 102. Information may be transmitted and/or received via thenetwork interface 206.

The storage medium 208 may represent a non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium. The storage medium 208 may include memory and/or a harddrive. The storage medium 208 may be used to store information receivedfrom one or more satellites and/or information received via the networkinterface 206. The storage medium 208 may store information related tothe EPG database 210, the NIT 214, and/or the DVR database 216. Recordedtelevision programs may be stored using the storage medium 208. Thestorage medium 208 may be partitioned or otherwise divided such thatpredefined amounts of the storage medium 208 are devoted to storage ofomnibus channel files and user-selected television programs.

The EPG database 210 may store information related to televisionchannels and the timing of programs appearing on such televisionchannels. The EPG database 210 may be stored using the storage medium208, which may be a hard drive. Information from the EPG database 210may be used to inform users of what television channels or programs arepopular and/or provide recommendations to the user. Information from theEPG database 210 may provide the user with a visual interface (e.g., EPG202) displayed by a television that allows a user to browse and selecttelevision channels and/or television programs for viewing and/orrecording. Information used to populate the EPG database 210 may bereceived via the network interface 206 and/or via satellites, such assatellites 106 a-c of FIG. 1 via the tuners 204 a-c. For instance,updates to the EPG database 210 may be received periodically viasatellite. The EPG database 210 may serve as an interface for a user tocontrol DVR functions of the PTR 110, and/or to enable viewing and/orrecording of multiple television channels simultaneously.

In addition to being used to provide users with information aboutscheduled programming, information from the EPG database 210 may be usedto determine when television programs begin and end for the purposes ofrecording. For instance, when a channel-specific file is recorded thatcontains multiple television channels, the start and end of time ofspecific television programs within the channel-specific file may bebased on the start and end times indicated in the EPG database 210.Other data may be stored within the EPG database 210 that may be usefulin managing channel-specific files, such as series identifiers andepisode identifiers, which may be used by a television service providerto identify particular television programs.

The decoder 228 may serve to convert encoded video and audio into aformat suitable for output to a display device. For instance, thedecoder 228 may receive MPEG video and audio from the storage medium208, or the descrambling engine 224, to be output to a television. MPEGvideo and audio from the storage medium 124 may have been recorded tothe DVR database 216 as part of a previously-recorded televisionprogram. The decoder 228 may convert the MPEG video and audio into aformat appropriate to be displayed by a television or other form ofdisplay device and audio into a format appropriate to be output fromspeakers, respectively.

The television interface 212 may serve to output a signal to atelevision, or another form of display device, in a proper format fordisplay of video and playback of audio. As such, the televisioninterface 212 may output one or more television channels, storedtelevision programming from the storage medium 208, such as televisionprograms from the DVR database 216 and/or information from the EPGdatabase 210 for example, to a television for presentation.

The NIT 214 may store information used by the PTR 110 to access varioustelevision channels. The NIT 214 may be stored using the storage medium208. Information used to populate the NIT 214 may be received viasatellite, or cable, via the tuners 204 a-c and/or may be received viathe network interface 206 from a service provider. As such, informationpresent in the NIT 214 may be periodically updated. The NIT 214 may belocally stored by the PTR 110 using the storage medium 208. Informationthat may be present in the NIT 214 may include, for example: televisionchannel numbers, a satellite identifier, a frequency identifier, atransponder identifier, an ECM (Entitlement Control Message) PID (PacketIdentifier), one or more audio PIDs, and a video PID. A second audio PIDof a channel may correspond to a SAP (Second Audio Program) program,such as in another language. In some embodiments, the NIT 214 may bedivided into additional tables. For example, rather than the specificaudio PIDs and video PIDs being present in the NIT 214, a channelidentifier may be present within NIT 214 which may be used to look upthe audio PIDs and video PIDs in another table, such as the PMT 226. Forexample, the PMT 226 may store information on audio PIDs and video PIDsfor television channels that are transmitted on a transponder frequency.

Table 1 below provides a simplified example of the NIT 214 for severaltelevision channels. It should be understood that in other embodiments,many more television channels may be represented in the NIT 214. The NIT214 may be at least periodically updated by a television serviceprovider. As such, television channels may be reassigned to differentsatellites and/or transponders, and the PTR 110 may be able to handlethis reassignment as long as the NIT 214 is updated.

TABLE 1 Channel Satellite Transponder ECM PID PMT PID 4 1 2 27 1001 5 211 29 1002 7 2 3 31 1001 13 2 4 33 1004

Based on information in the NIT 214, it may be possible to determine theproper satellite and transponder to which to tune for a particulartelevision channel. In some embodiments, the NIT 214 may list aparticular frequency to which to tune for a particular televisionchannel. Once tuned to the proper satellite/transponder/frequency, thePMT PID may be used to retrieve a program management table thatindicates the PIDs for audio and video streams of television channelstransmitted by that transponder.

It should be understood that the values provided in Table 1 are forexample purposes only. Actual values, including how satellites andtransponders are identified, may vary. Additional information may alsobe stored in NIT 214. Additional information on how the NIT 214, asindicated in Table 1, may be used is provided in reference to FIG. 3.The same PID may be reused on different transponders.

A DVR may permit a television channel to be recorded for a period oftime. DVR functionality of the PTR 110 may be managed by the controlprocessor 202 b. The control processor 202 b may coordinate thetelevision channel, start time, and stop time of when recording of atelevision channel is to occur. The DVR database 216 may storeinformation related to the recording of television stations. The DVRdatabase 216 may store timers that are used by the control processor 202b to determine when a television channel should be tuned to and itsprograms recorded to the DVR database 216. However, other embodimentsare possible. For example, in some embodiments, the storage medium 208may store timers. Timer files may be defined as a daily_schedule_db.datfile and a gloal_timer_db.dat file. In general, when a “new” timer iscreated, a “new” entry may be added into the daily_schedule_db.dat andgloal_timer_db.dat files, which may include all timer relatedinformation such as channel number, start time, duration, etc. Further,a limited amount of the storage medium 208 may be devoted to the DVRdatabase 216. Timers may be set by a service provider and/or one or moreusers of the PTR 110.

DVR functionality of the control processor 202 b may have multiplemodes. For example, DVR functionality of the control processor 202 b maybe configured to record individual television programs selected by auser to the DVR database 216. Using the EPG database 210, a user mayselect a particular television program. Based on the date, time period,and television channel indicated by the EPG database 210, the controlprocessor 202 b may record the associated television program to the DVRdatabase 216. In another example, the DVR database 216 may be used tostore recordings of predefined periods of time on one or more televisionchannels. These predefined periods of time may include one or moretelevision programs. For example, Primetime on a particular televisionnetwork may be recorded each weekday night. Further, multiple televisionchannels may be recorded for such predefined periods of time. Suchrecording of television channels for predefined periods of time may bedefined by a television service provider (e.g., service provider 102).

As an example of this second mode of DVR functionality, a televisionservice provider may configure the PTR 110 to record televisionprogramming on multiple, predefined television channels for a predefinedperiod of time, on predefined dates. For instance, a television serviceprovider may configure the PTR 110 such that television programming maybe recorded from 7 PM to 10 PM on the NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX networkseach weeknight. When a television program is selected for recording by auser and is also specified for recording by the television serviceprovider, the user selection may serve as an indication to save thetelevision program for an extended time, beyond the time which thepredefined recording would otherwise be saved.

Whether recording is performed based on a user-selected televisionprogram or selection by a television service provider, selection mayresult in storage by DVR database 216 being managed differently.Separate storage arrangements, such as separate partitions on the samestorage device, may be allocated based on which entity designated thetelevision program/channel for recording. As such, the DVR database 216may use multiple storage arrangements, such as multiple partitions onthe storage medium 225. Television programming recorded based on atelevision service provider selection may be stored on a first storagearrangement. Television programming recorded based on user selection maybe stored on a second storage arrangement. Television programming on thefirst storage arrangement may automatically be deleted after apredefined period of time, such as two weeks. If a television programstored by the first storage arrangement is selected by a user (such asvia a displayed EPG) to be saved, the television program may betransferred from the first storage arrangement to the second storagearrangement, such as when the television programming would otherwise bedeleted from the first storage arrangement. Additional detail regardingthe recording, storage, and maintenance of television programming by thePTR 110 is provided below in conjunction with the figures.

The user interface 218 may include a remote control, physically separatefrom PTR 110, and/or one or more buttons on the PTR 110 that allows auser to interact with the PTR 110. The user interface 218 may be used toselect a television channel for viewing, view information from the EPGdatabase 210, and/or program a timer stored to the DVR database 216wherein the timer may be used to control the DVR functionality of thecontrol processor 202 b.

Referring back to tuners 204 a-c, television channels received viasatellite, or cable, may contain at least some scrambled data. Packetsof audio and video may be scrambled to prevent unauthorized users, suchas nonsubscribers, from receiving television programming without payingthe television service provider. When one of the tuners 204 a-c isreceiving data from a particular transponder of a satellite, thetransponder stream may be a series of data packets corresponding tomultiple television channels. Each data packet may contain a PID, which,in combination with the NIT 214 and/or the PMT 226, can be determined tobe associated with particular television channel. Particular datapackets, referred to as ECMs may be periodically transmitted. ECMs maybe associated with another PID and may be encrypted; the PTR 110 may usethe smart card 222 to decrypt ECMs. Decryption of an ECM may only bepossible when the user (e.g., PTR 110) has authorization to access theparticular television channel associated with the ECM. When an ECM isdetermined to correspond to a television channel being stored and/ordisplayed, the ECM may be provided to the smart card 222 for decryption.

When the smart card 222 receives an encrypted ECM, the smart card 222may decrypt the ECM to obtain some number of control words. In someembodiments, from each ECM received by the smart card 222, two controlwords are obtained. In some embodiments, when the smart card 222receives an ECM, it compares the ECM to the previously received ECM.When the two ECMs match, the second ECM is not decrypted because thesame control words would be obtained. In other embodiments, each ECMreceived by the smart card 222 is decrypted; however, when a second ECMmatches a first ECM, the outputted control words will match; thus,effectively, the second ECM does not affect the control words output bythe smart card 222. The smart card 222 may be permanently part of thePTR 110 or may be configured to be inserted and removed from PTR 110.

The central processor 202 a may be in communication with the tuners 204a-c and the control processor 202 b. The central processor 202 a may beconfigured to receive commands from the control processor 202 b. Suchcommands may indicate when to start/stop recording a television channeland/or when to start/stop causing a television channel to be output to atelevision. The central processor 202 a may control the tuners 204 a-c.The central processor 202 a may provide commands to the tuners 204 a-cthat instruct the tuners which satellite, transponder, and/or frequencyto tune to. From the tuners 204 a-c, the central processor 202 a mayreceive transponder streams of packetized data. As previously detailed,some or all of these packets may include a PID that identifies thecontent of the packet.

The central processor 202 a may be configured to create at least one PIDfilter 220 that sorts packets received from the tuners 204 a-c based onthe PIDs. When a tuner is initially tuned to a particular frequency,such as a particular transponder of a satellite, a PID filter may becreated based on a PID of PMT data. The PID of PMT data packets may beknown because it is stored as part of the NIT 214. From the PMT datapackets, the PMT 226 may be constructed by central processor 202 a.Table 2 below provides an exemplary snapshot of a PMT. The PMT 226 maybe specific to a particular transponder. As such, when tuning to adifferent transponder occurs, a new PMT may be created for the differenttransponder.

TABLE 2 Channel Video PID 1^(st) Audio PID 2^(nd) Audio PID 4 1003 23832119 5 2993 2727 2728 7 9238 1233 0129 13 0012 9348 —

Accordingly, based on the information present in the PMT 226, the audioand video PIDs for specific television channels may be identified. Atelevision channel may have multiple audio PIDs due to a second audioprogram, which may be in a different language. It should be understoodthat the values provided in Table 2 are for example purposes only.Actual values may vary. Additional information or less information mayalso be stored in the PMT 226.

The PID filter 220 may be configured to filter data packets based onPIDs. In some embodiments, the PID filter 220 is created and executed bycentral processor 202 a. In other embodiments, separate hardware may beused to create and execute multiple PID filters. Depending on atelevision channel selected for recording/viewing, a PID filter may becreated to filter the video and audio packets associated with thetelevision channel, based on the PID assignments present in the PMT 226.For example, when a transponder data stream includes multiple televisionchannels, data packets corresponding to a television channel that is notdesired to be stored or displayed by the user, may be ignored by PIDfilters. As such, only data packets corresponding to the one or moretelevision channels desired to be stored and/or displayed may befiltered and passed to either the descrambling engine 224 or the smartcard 222; other data packets may be ignored. For each televisionchannel, a stream of video packets, a stream of audio packets, one orboth of the audio programs, and/or a stream of ECM packets may bepresent, each stream identified by a PID. In some embodiments, a commonECM stream may be used for multiple television channels. Additional datapackets corresponding to other information, such as updates to the NIT214, may be appropriately routed by the PID filter 220. At a given time,one or multiple PID filters may be executed by the central processor 202a.

The descrambling engine 224 may use the control words output by thesmart card 222 in order to descramble video and/or audio correspondingto television channels for storage and/or presentation. Video and/oraudio data contained in the transponder data stream received by thetuners 204 a-c may be scrambled. Video and/or audio data may bedescrambled by descrambling engine 224 using a particular control word.Which control word output by the smart card 222 to be used forsuccessful descrambling may be indicated by a scramble controlidentifier present within the data packet containing the scrambled videoor audio. Descrambled video and/or audio may be output by thedescrambling engine 224 to the storage medium 208 for storage in the DVRdatabase 216 and/or to the decoder 228 for output to a television orother presentation equipment via the television interface 212.

The catalog database 230 may be used by the PTR 110 to store informationabout television programs that are stored as part of a channel-specificfile and in individual television program files. The catalog database230 may be updated as television programs are recorded, transferred, andas files corresponding to television programming are deleted. Datastored in catalog database 270 may be used to locate television programswithin a channel-specific file and a program-specific file.

For simplicity, the PTR 110 of FIG. 2 has been reduced to a blockdiagram; commonly known parts, such as a power supply, have beenomitted. Further, some routing between the various modules of PTR 110has been illustrated. Such illustrations are for exemplary purposesonly. The state of two modules not being directly or indirectlyconnected does not indicate the modules cannot communicate. Rather,connections between modules of the PTR 110 are intended only to indicatepossible common data routing. It should be understood that the modulesof the PTR 110 may be combined into a fewer number of modules or dividedinto a greater number of modules. Further, the components of the PTR 110may be part of another device, such as built into a television. Also,while the PTR 110 may be used to receive, store, and present televisionchannels received via a satellite, it should be understood that similarcomponents may be used to receive, store, and present televisionchannels via a cable network.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an example method 300 for enabling peak timepower savings is shown in accordance with certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Teachings of the present disclosure may beimplemented in a variety of configurations that may correspond to theconfigurations disclosed herein. As such, certain aspects of the methodsdisclosed herein may be omitted, and the order of the steps may beshuffled in any suitable manner and may depend on the implementationchosen. Moreover, while the aspects of the methods disclosed herein, maybe separated for the sake of description, it should be understood thatcertain steps may be performed simultaneously or substantiallysimultaneously.

In general, steps or modules of the method 300 as described mayultimately be implemented by or on the PTR 110 of FIG. 1. For example,the PM service 115 of or on the PTR 110 may be configured to implementone or more steps, modules, etc., of the example method 300. Otherembodiments are however possible. For example, one or more modules orsteps of the method 300 may be implemented by or on one or more of theother respective devices or components within the system 100 asdescribed above in connection with FIG. 1. Still other embodiments arepossible.

The method may include identifying (module 302), by a televisionreceiver, a potential upcoming peak usage period. In this example, theterm “peak usage period” may refer to a period of time where a certainpercentage of the customer base is expected to tune to particularprogramming at a particular time of a particular day. The term “certainpercentage” may refer to or be correlated with a greater than “normal”number of customers tuning in to particular programming. This maycorrespond to a predetermined threshold value. For example, in a“normal” scenario it may be expected that about 5% of the total customerbase is expected to watch first particular programming, such as apopular sitcom. In a greater than “normal” scenario it may be expectedthat about 30% of the total customer base is expected to watch secondparticular programming, such as the Super Bowl. In this example, athreshold of 20% (which is only used for purposes of example here) maybe defined to qualify a time period associated with the secondparticular programming as a potential upcoming peak usage period. Otherembodiments are possible.

The method may include selecting (module 304), by the televisionreceiver, a preferred power savings mode or configuration for thetelevision receiver in light of the potential upcoming peak usageperiod. For example, the television receiver may select a “high” powersavings configuration, a “medium” power savings configuration, or a“low” power savings configuration, to enter into or reconfigure itselffor the potential upcoming peak usage period. In one embodiment, thepreferred power savings mode or configuration for the televisionreceiver may be predetermined or identified by a particular customer. Inanother embodiment, the preferred power savings mode or configurationfor the television receiver may be a “default” configurationpredetermined by a service provider. Other embodiments are possible.

The method may include configuring (module 306), by the televisionreceiver, the television receiver according to the selected preferredpower savings mode or configuration prior to the potential upcoming peakusage period. For example, the television receiver may reconfigureitself in accordance with selected preferred power savings mode orconfiguration 60 seconds prior to the potential upcoming peak usageperiod. Other embodiments are possible.

Further, the reconfiguration time may be selected as desired. Forexample, the television receiver may reconfigure itself in accordancewith selected preferred power savings mode or configuration 2 minutes, 3minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, etc., prior to the potential upcomingpeak usage period. Still other embodiments are possible.

As mentioned above, power consumption may be of concern during peakusage periods, such as during the Super Bowl, which corresponds to a“major” sporting event. It is contemplated that many different types ofbroadcast programming may be arbitrarily described or otherwise definedas a “major” event. For example, there may be an occasion where peopletune in to see a major news event. They may all tune to the same channelor they may tune to different news channels. Further, the major newsevent may be known in advance, so the receivers would be able topreconfigure for the event. But, the news event could be some unexpectedevent like a natural disaster or other incident. This may mean thatreceivers would not be preconfigured but would receive the command toconfigure the power saving mode at some point after the commencement ofthe news event.

FIG. 4 shows an example method 400 for enabling peak time power savings,in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure.Teachings of the present disclosure may be implemented in a variety ofconfigurations that may correspond to the configurations disclosedherein. As such, certain aspects of the methods disclosed herein may beomitted, and the order of the steps may be shuffled in any suitablemanner and may depend on the implementation chosen. Moreover, while theaspects of the methods disclosed herein, may be separated for the sakeof description, it should be understood that certain steps may beperformed simultaneously or substantially simultaneously.

As indicated by block 402, in some embodiments, one or more operationalmodes may be defined. The one or more operational modes may include anysuitable number of power saving modes. The end user could have theoption to define and/or select one or more operational modes at thetelevision receiver in some embodiments. In some embodiments, thetelevision receiver may be preset by, say a manufacturer and/or serviceprovider, with the one or more operational modes.

In some embodiments, the television receiver may be configured toautomatically define one or more operational modes based at least inpart on ejecting the particular set up in which the television receiveris implemented. For example, the television receiver may be configuredto automatically identify a list of functions and/or resources, whichmay include sub-functions, that may be optional to the operation of thetelevision receiver setup, and to automatically rank the list offunctions and/or resources according to a precedence order in which thefunctions may be disabled to increase power savings. In someembodiments, the television receiver may inspect a set of functionsagainst a predetermined checklist, assess the power consumption and/orperformance criticality of each function/resource, and inventory eachfunction. In some embodiments, the assessing of the power consumptionand/or performance locality may include performing self-tests whereineach functions tested to inform the assessment. In some instances, theranking may be primarily based upon power savings as being the chiefobjective, and, accordingly, the precedence order may be determined bythe power savings obtainable through disabling particular functions andsub-functions. In some instances, the ranking may be primarily basedupon maintaining optimal performance as being the chief objective, and,accordingly, the precedence order may be determined by the extent towhich particular functions and sub-functions affect performance andcapabilities of the television receiver system. Some embodiments mayallow the end user to have the option to select which power scheme is tobe employed—one where power savings is the chief objective or one wherepreserving optimal performance while saving power is the chiefobjective.

In some implementations, multiple operational modes may be defined toallow for multiple power savings modes. For example, an end user coulddesire to have power savings apart from peak time power savings. Invarious embodiments, a power savings configuration could be based on oneor more of time of day, day of week, season (e.g., summer), location,temperature, and/or any other suitable basis. For example, a powersavings configuration could designate a certain time period in the dayfor a power savings mode. This could correspond to prime time viewinghours according to typical television viewing trends. It couldcorrespond to relatively hot time periods of the day for locations andseasons where the heat of the day requires high levels of airconditioning and, thus, power consumption. A power savings configurationcould designate a temperature threshold such that the savings mode wouldbe initiated when an outside temperature in the location meets orexceeds the temperature threshold. In some embodiments, a serviceprovider or other data source may push indications of local outsidetemperature to television receivers. Alternatively or additionally,television receivers may pull indications of local outside temperaturefrom a service provider or other data source.

Some implementations could come to the end user preprogrammed to allowuser selection of such options. In some cases, the user-selectableoptions may allow a user to modify criteria for power savings modes. Forexample, there may be provided a user-selectable option to adjust atemperature threshold such that the savings mode would be initiated whenan outside temperature in the location meets or exceeds the temperaturethreshold.

As indicated by block 404, a television receiver may process anindication of a peak usage period. The peak usage period may correspondto television receiver usage of a plurality of television receivers in amedia content distribution system. The indication may be received by thetelevision receiver from a service provider via a network. In someembodiments, a service provider or other data source may pushindications of peak usage to television receivers. Alternatively oradditionally, television receivers may pull indications of peak usagefrom a service provider or other data source.

In some embodiments, the indication may be generated based on real-timedetection of the peak usage period, and the indication may be pushed tothe television receiver by the service provider, for example. This couldhappen in situations that are unforeseen, where the service providermonitors customer base usage and detects customer usage above one ormore thresholds. Such just-in-time detection could be employed inbreaking news events of a large scale, such as natural disasters. Insome cases, such just-in-time approaches could be employed even thoughpeak times are foreseen, but where the extent of the peak time usage isuncertain. Thus, a service provider may be afforded a wait-and-seeapproach, so that the service provider may not be forced to preemptivelydegrade customer television receiver performance in uncertaincircumstances.

In some embodiments, the indication may be generated and conveyed inadvance of a peak usage period. For example, a service provider mayconsider historical information for certain television events anddetermine peak usage time periods for upcoming events in view of thepast events. Accordingly, the service provider could convey indicationsof such to the television receiver in advance. The service providercould convey indications on a periodic basis. Batches of indicia, whichcould include updates to previously sent information, could be sent atany suitable time.

In some embodiments, the indicia could indicate any one or combinationof time information, channel information, program identification, and/orthe like. The time information could include start time, stop time,and/or duration. In some embodiments, the television receiver is notapprised of peak usage time period information beyond time information.In some embodiments, the television receiver may be provided with thestart time, but not the stop time, and the stop time may be determinedbased on other information. In some embodiments, the television receivermay be provided with program information and/or channel information, andthe television receiver may determine time information corresponding tothe peak usage based at least in part on the program information and/orchannel information.

In some embodiments, a television receiver may not identify a period oftime corresponding to peak usage, but may identify a first time thatcorresponds to the beginning of a peak usage. For example, thetelevision receiver may receive an indication of a first time from aservice provider, the first time corresponding to when the peak usageperiod begins, and the service provider may not simultaneously providean indication of the extent of the peak usage period and/or an end timeof the peak usage period. The television receiver could, for example,await and/or pull a subsequent indication of the stop time. In someembodiments, a service provider may later provide an indication of theextent of the peak usage period and/or an end time of the peak usageperiod to the television receiver. Thus, the television receiver, afterhaving received the first time indication, may await further indicationfrom the service provider. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the serviceprovider may provide real-time adjustments based on usage data in orderto actively manage television receiver power consumption for a pluralityof television receivers.

A service provider may indicate the peak usage period by providingindication of a particular television event to a television receiver.The television receiver could determine the corresponding time periodbased on the indication of the particular television event. Such adetermination could be made by the television receiver accessing EPGinformation in some embodiments. The television receiver could correlatethe indication of the particular television event to time informationincluded in the EPG information. In a specific example, the serviceprovider may indicate a peak usage corresponding to the Super Bowlwithout indicating time information, and the television receiver coulddetermine the time information corresponding to the Super Bowl based onEPG information.

In some embodiments, a television receiver may receive an indication ofa peak usage period from a service provider that indicates the extent ofthe peak usage period and/or an end time of the peak usage period, andthe service provider may later provide an update and/or override. Forexample, a service provider may identify a particular television eventas having the potential for causing a peak usage period and may providea television receiver with indication of the peak usage period so thatthe television receiver may be configured accordingly. In someembodiments, a service provider may indicate one or more potential peakusage periods in advance. A service provider could, for example,provides such indications to television receivers on a periodic basis(e.g., once a day, week, month, etc.). However, say the service providermonitors the usage during the television event and determines that theactual usage is less than was anticipated such that television receiverpower minimization is not actually necessary; the service provider mayindicate to the television receivers, during the television event, anupdate and/or override so that the television receivers may return tonormal operation modes. In such manner, unnecessary minimization modesmay be avoided, and service providers may be afforded the opportunity tocorrect course when anticipated peak usage times do not occur asexpected.

As indicated by block 406, the television receiver may select a powersavings mode from the plurality of operating modes. The televisionreceiver may select a power savings mode based at least in part on theindication received by the television receiver from the serviceprovider, according to some embodiments. With some embodiments, thetelevision receiver may select a power savings mode based at least inpart on other indicia, such as temperature information, timeinformation, etc.

In some cases, there may be only one power savings mode for a particulartelevision receiver, and, thus, the only operating mode options may be adefault or normal operating mode and the one power savings mode. Inother embodiments, there may be multiple powers saving modes. Themultiple powers saving modes could include any combination ofuser-defined power savings mode(s), preset power saving mode(s), staticpower savings mode(s), dynamic power savings mode(s), and/or the like. Astatic power savings mode could correspond to predeterminedconfiguration that disables a certain set of one or more functions.Thus, implementing a static power savings mode may have the same resultin every instance for a particular television receiver setup.

A dynamic power savings mode could corresponding to a dynamicallyadjustable configuration that disables one or more functions, monitorsthe resulting effects of disablement, compares the results to a powersavings threshold, and reconfigures continent on whether the powersavings threshold is met. In some embodiments, the power savingsthreshold could be based at least in part on the indication receivedfrom the service provider. For example, the service provider couldindicate a need for a high, medium, or low power savings—any othersuitable categorization of powers savings. The service provider couldindicate a need for power savings with a gradated scale (say, high,medium, low, and/or the like), and the television receiver couldcorrelate the indicated need to a particular power savings mode. Asanother example, the service provider could indicate a power savingsgoal for the television receiver. The power savings goal couldcorrespond to an absolute metric such a particular power consumptionvalue or percentage, and the television receiver could correlate theindicate need to a particular power savings mode and/or dynamicallyadjust to meet the power savings goal. Having a power savings goal, thetelevision receiver could heuristically and/or incrementally adjustfunction configurations and/or power savings modes until the goal ismet. An end user could likewise set a power savings goal for thetelevision receiver to achieve in some embodiments.

As indicated by block 408, the television receiver may processconfiguration information related to the selected power savings mode.The configuration information could include information about a set offunctions for the system, a set of one or more functions to disableaccording to the power savings mode, a set of one or more otheradjustments to make according to the power savings mode, instructions,parameters, and/or rules regarding the same, and/or the like. By way ofexample, the configuration information could include information aboutspecial features that can be disabled. The special features couldinclude the preprocessing of additional content beyond that which isbeing presented, say additional tuner(s) tuning to additional channelsand the preprocessing of additional channel content to anticipate andaccelerate channel changes. The special features could include recordingfeatures, such as a default recording of prime time content that was notspecifically selected by the user, and, hence, the recording device(s)and/or tuners may be disabled. As another example, the configurationinformation could include information about secondary televisionreceivers in a home network and disabling/powering down one or morefunctions relating thereto. With some modes, one or more secondaryreceivers may simply be powered down. Thus, a primary televisionreceiver located in a living room may be subject to a first powersavings configuration for a particular peak usage period, and asecondary television receiver located in a bedroom may be subject to asecond power savings configuration for the particular peak usage period.The disabling/powering down could be contingent on usage of thesecondary television receivers such usage may not be disrupted.

As indicated by block 410, in some embodiments, one or more contingentadjustments may be identified. A contingent adjustment may be apotential adjustment to the television receiver whether the applicationof the adjustment is contingent on one or more conditions. As indicatedby block 412, one or more power savings rules may be processed. Thepower savings rules may pertain to the contingent adjustment(s) andgovern the one or more conditions bearing on the contingentadjustment(s).

As one example, the television receiver may identify a contingentadjustment that can be made without disruption of recording if a programis being recorded by the television receiver, but cannot be made withoutdisruption of presentation if a program is being presented for viewing(i.e., if the user is watching a program). As another example, a networkconnection could be ripe for disconnection only under certaincircumstances, say when one or more receivers are not providing contentfor presentation, are not recording content, etc.

As yet another example, the television receiver may identify acontingent adjustment pertaining to recording content. Say, for example,a special feature of default recording of prime time content may bedisabled (e.g., the recorder and/or tuner) unless the user hasspecifically selecting the prime time recording. In some cases, thetelevision receiver may determine whether a scheduled recording may berescheduled or canceled. Certain programs may have repeat showings. Thetelevision receiver may identify a given program scheduled forrecording, and search for a previous recording of the program. Thus, inthe case that the scheduled recording is for a repeat showing that hasalready been recorded, the television receiver may cancel the scheduledrecording.

The television receiver could also be forward-looking and search for oneor more future repeat showings of the program. Upon identification of arepeat showing, the television receiver may determine whether the nextrepeat showing is scheduled within an anticipated peak usage period. Ifso, the television receiver may automatically cancel the scheduledrecording and schedule a recording of the repeat showing. If not, thetelevision receiver may iteratively search for and check repeat showingsto determine if any such viable alternatives exist. If no alternativesare found, the television receiver may either proceed with the scheduledrecording or cancel the scheduled recording, depending on the powersavings mode (e.g., with a relatively low power savings mode, thescheduled recording may be allowed to proceed; but, with a relativelyhigh power savings mode, the scheduled recording may be canceled).

In some embodiments, the television receiver may make determinations ofwhether to temporarily cancel scheduled recordings based on userhistory. If previously recorded content corresponding to the scheduledrecording specifically (e.g., previous corresponding episodes) have notbeen viewed, a scheduled recording may be canceled. Some embodimentscould employ one or more thresholds to make the determination. Anunviewed recording threshold could be used such that the scheduledrecording may be canceled if the number of unviewed recordings meets orexceeds the unviewed recording threshold. Accordingly, the televisionreceiver may infer that the recorded content is of lesser importance tothe user. Additionally or alternatively, the television receiver coulddetermine whether a pattern of the user is viewing the recordingcontent. Say, for example, a series of recordings correspond to a seriesof episodes for a particular program, and the television receiverdetermines that the user is sequentially viewing the recording episodes.In such a scenario, the television receiver may infer that the user, andthough perhaps “behind” in viewing recent episodes, is highly interestedin the content. The television receiver may then determine that thescheduled recording should not be canceled. In some embodiments, thispattern determination could override a determination based on theunviewed recording threshold.

As indicated by block 414, in some embodiments, the television receivermay provide one or more notifications to users prior to an operationalmode transition to inform the user of the change. Such notifications maybe presented at the television receiver and/or via the coupledtelevision display. A notification could be provided for all changes orfor only select changes. In particular, a notification may be providedfor changes that affect the user's viewing, recording, and/or navigationexperience. No notification may be provided for certain changes that donot affect the user's experience, according to certain embodiments.

As indicated by block 416, the television receiver may be configuredaccording to a second operating mode. The second operating mode maycorrespond to the initial, default, and/or normal operating mode suchthat the television receiver returns to the former state that it was inprior to entering one or more power savings modes. In some embodiments,the second operating mode may correspond to another power savings mode.Thus, the television receiver may transition from a first power savingsmode to a second power savings mode. The second power savings mode couldcorrespond to a user-selected/-defined power savings mode.

The second power savings mode could be selected by the televisionreceiver based at least in part on dynamic adjust in view of aperformance goal, or in view of a newly identified performance goal. Thesecond power savings mode could be selected by the television receiverbased at least in part on a gradated power savings scheme to address afluctuation of customer usage. The fluctuation of customer usage could,for example, correspond to a build-up of attention to a series ofevents, say a series including preliminary events culminating in a mainevent. Customer usage associated with the preliminary events could begreater than a first set of one or more thresholds, and customer usageassociated with the main event could be greater than a greaterthreshold.

As indicated by block 418, in some embodiments, the television receivermay process power usage information. In various embodiments, thetelevision receiver may monitor, measure, detect, estimate, and/orotherwise gather information pertaining to power usage and/or savings.The power usage information may be retained by the television receiver,and, in certain embodiments, may be conveyed to the service provider.Any suitable power usage and/or savings metrics may be derived toindicate power usage and/or savings associated with any one orcombination of operational modes of the television receiver. This mayallow for the surfacing of savings information to an end user. A powerusage history for the television receiver system, which may include oneor more secondary television receivers, may thus be compiled forinforming an end user and/or service provider. Power usage informationmay be processed for any suitable time period. For example, currentusage or usage over a past time period may be determined and compared toa previous corresponding time period (e.g., the past month's usage maybe compared to usage from a previous month, one year's usage may becompared to a previous year's usage, etc.). In some embodiments, theaccounting of the usage may consider pricing information that may beestimated, assumed, and/or gathered from the user's electricity providerto provide indicia of cost savings. The user could provide input ofpricing information in some implementations. In some cases, a serviceprovider may gather pricing information from the user's electricityprovider and/or electricity providers servicing the user's generallocality. The pricing information could correspond to average orotherwise typical pricing for the user's general locality.

As indicated by block 420, in some embodiments, the television receivermay provide indicia of power usage and/or savings information forpresentation to and/or access by an end user. The information could bepresented along with an end-user configuration interface. Theinformation may be presented at the television receiver and/or via thecoupled television display. For example, on a monthly-basis a particulartelevision receiver may output a user interface or display that listspower savings for the particular month (e.g., “You conserved 100 Wattsin January”). Along with power savings, the particular televisionreceiver may output a user interface or display that lists a dollaramount associated with power savings for the particular month (e.g.,“You saved $20 in January”).

In some embodiments, the television receiver could be configured to senda service provider report information concerning power savings. Thereport information could include confirmation of power savingscompliance responsive to indication of peak usage time provided by theservice provider to the television receiver.

The reporting features of some embodiments may allow a service providerto provide financial incentives/reward for customers taking part in apower savings program. For example, customers enrolling in a powersavings program could receive a discount. As another example, customerspursuing additional power savings measures beyond peak time powersavings could be incentivized with rewards from the service provider.

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of an example computer system or device 500in accordance with the present disclosure. An example of a computersystem or device includes an enterprise server, blade server, desktopcomputer, laptop computer, personal data assistant, smartphone, gamingconsole, set-top-box, and any other type of machine for performingcalculations. The computer system 500 may be wholly or at leastpartially incorporated as part of previously-described computingdevices, such as the PTR 110, the secondary television receivers 112a-b, the televisions 114 a-c, and the computing devices 116 a-b ofFIG. 1. The example computer device 500 may be configured to performand/or include instructions that, when executed, cause the computersystem 500 to perform any one or combination of aspects the methodsdisclosed herein.

The computer device 500 is shown comprising hardware elements that maybe electrically coupled via a bus 502 (or may otherwise be incommunication, as appropriate). The hardware elements may include aprocessing unit with one or more processors 504, including withoutlimitation one or more general-purpose processors and/or one or morespecial-purpose processors (such as digital signal processing chips,graphics acceleration processors, and/or the like); one or more inputdevices 506, which can include without limitation a remote control, amouse, a keyboard, and/or the like; and one or more output devices 508,which can include without limitation a presentation device (e.g.,television), a printer, and/or the like.

The computer system 500 may further include (and/or be in communicationwith) one or more non-transitory storage devices 510, which cancomprise, without limitation, local and/or network accessible storage,and/or can include, without limitation, a disk drive, a drive array, anoptical storage device, a solid-state storage device, such as a randomaccess memory, and/or a read-only memory, which can be programmable,flash-updateable, and/or the like. Such storage devices may beconfigured to implement any appropriate data stores, including withoutlimitation, various file systems, database structures, and/or the like.

The computer device 500 might also include a communications subsystem512, which can include without limitation a modem, a network card(wireless or wired), an infrared communication device, a wirelesscommunication device, and/or a chipset (such as a Bluetooth™ device, an802.11 device, a WiFi device, a WiMax device, cellular communicationfacilities (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.), and/or the like. Thecommunications subsystem 512 may permit data to be exchanged with anetwork (such as the network described below, to name one example),other computer systems, and/or any other devices described herein. Inmany embodiments, the computer system 500 will further comprise aworking memory 514, which may include a random access memory and/or aread-only memory device, as described above.

The computer device 500 also can comprise software elements, shown asbeing currently located within the working memory 514, including anoperating system 516, device drivers, executable libraries, and/or othercode, such as one or more application programs 518, which may comprisecomputer programs provided by various embodiments, and/or may bedesigned to implement methods, and/or configure systems, provided byother embodiments, as described herein. By way of example, one or moreprocedures described with respect to the method(s) discussed above,and/or system components might be implemented as code and/orinstructions executable by a computer (and/or a processor within acomputer); in an aspect, then, such code and/or instructions can be usedto configure and/or adapt a general purpose computer (or other device)to perform one or more operations in accordance with the describedmethods.

A set of these instructions and/or code might be stored on anon-transitory computer-readable storage medium, such as the storagedevice(s) 510 described above. In some cases, the storage medium mightbe incorporated within a computer system, such as computer system 500.In other embodiments, the storage medium might be separate from acomputer system (e.g., a removable medium, such as flash memory), and/orprovided in an installation package, such that the storage medium can beused to program, configure, and/or adapt a general purpose computer withthe instructions/code stored thereon. These instructions might take theform of executable code, which is executable by the computer device 500and/or might take the form of source and/or installable code, which,upon compilation and/or installation on the computer system 500 (e.g.,using any of a variety of generally available compilers, installationprograms, compression/decompression utilities, etc.), then takes theform of executable code.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that substantialvariations may be made in accordance with specific requirements. Forexample, customized hardware might also be used, and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, software (including portablesoftware, such as applets, etc.), or both. Further, connection to othercomputing devices such as network input/output devices may be employed.

As mentioned above, in one aspect, some embodiments may employ acomputer system (such as the computer device 500) to perform methods inaccordance with various embodiments of the invention. According to a setof embodiments, some or all of the procedures of such methods areperformed by the computer system 500 in response to processor 504executing one or more sequences of one or more instructions (which mightbe incorporated into the operating system 516 and/or other code, such asan application program 518) contained in the working memory 514. Suchinstructions may be read into the working memory 514 from anothercomputer-readable medium, such as one or more of the storage device(s)510. Merely by way of example, execution of the sequences ofinstructions contained in the working memory 514 may cause theprocessor(s) 504 to perform one or more procedures of the methodsdescribed herein.

The terms “machine-readable medium” and “computer-readable medium,” asused herein, may refer to any medium that participates in providing datathat causes a machine to operate in a specific fashion. In an embodimentimplemented using the computer device 500, various computer-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)504 for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code. In many implementations, a computer-readable mediumis a physical and/or tangible storage medium. Such a medium may take theform of a non-volatile media or volatile media. Non-volatile media mayinclude, for example, optical and/or magnetic disks, such as the storagedevice(s) 510. Volatile media may include, without limitation, dynamicmemory, such as the working memory 514.

Example forms of physical and/or tangible computer-readable media mayinclude a floppy disk, a flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, or anyother magnetic medium, a CD-ROM, any other optical medium, a RAM, aPROM, EPROM, a FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, or anyother medium from which a computer can read instructions and/or code.

Various forms of computer-readable media may be involved in carrying oneor more sequences of one or more instructions to the processor(s) 504for execution. By way of example, the instructions may initially becarried on a magnetic disk and/or optical disc of a remote computer. Aremote computer might load the instructions into its dynamic memory andsend the instructions as signals over a transmission medium to bereceived and/or executed by the computer system 500.

The communications subsystem 512 (and/or components thereof) generallywill receive signals, and the bus 502 then might carry the signals(and/or the data, instructions, etc. carried by the signals) to theworking memory 514, from which the processor(s) 504 retrieves andexecutes the instructions. The instructions received by the workingmemory 514 may optionally be stored on a non-transitory storage device510 either before or after execution by the processor(s) 504.

The methods, systems, and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various method steps orprocedures, or system components as appropriate. For instance, inalternative configurations, the methods may be performed in an orderdifferent from that described, and/or various stages may be added,omitted, and/or combined. Also, features described with respect tocertain configurations may be combined in various other configurations.Different aspects and elements of the configurations may be combined ina similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus, many of theelements are examples and do not limit the scope of the disclosure orclaims.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations only, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations will provide those skilled in the art with an enablingdescription for implementing described techniques. Various changes maybe made in the function and arrangement of elements without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure.

Also, configurations may be described as a process which is depicted asa flow diagram or block diagram. Although each may describe theoperations as a sequential process, many of the operations can beperformed in parallel or concurrently. In addition, the order of theoperations may be rearranged. A process may have additional steps notincluded in the figure. Furthermore, examples of the methods may beimplemented by hardware, software, firmware, middleware, microcode,hardware description languages, or any combination thereof. Whenimplemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, the programcode or code segments to perform the necessary tasks may be stored in anon-transitory computer-readable medium such as a storage medium.Processors may perform the described tasks.

Furthermore, the example embodiments described herein may be implementedas logical operations in a computing device in a networked computingsystem environment. The logical operations may be implemented as: (i) asequence of computer implemented instructions, steps, or program modulesrunning on a computing device; and (ii) interconnected logic or hardwaremodules running within a computing device.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for enabling peak time power savings,the method comprising: processing, by a first television receiver, anindication of a peak usage period, wherein the peak usage periodcorresponds to television receiver usage of a plurality of televisionreceivers in a media content distribution system; selecting, by thefirst television receiver, a power savings mode from a plurality ofoperating modes based at least in part on the indication of the peakusage period; and causing, by the first television receiver, a secondtelevision receiver to be configured according to configurationinformation related to the power savings mode, the second televisionreceiver to operate in conformity with the power savings mode at a firsttime corresponding to the peak usage period, wherein the secondtelevision receiver operates in conformity with the power savings modeafter the first time corresponding to the peak usage period; wherein thefirst television receiver operates in conformity with a first operatingmode after the first time corresponding to the peak usage period, thefirst operating mode being different from the power savings mode; andwherein the first television receiver and the second television receiverare within a home network.
 2. The method for enabling peak time powersavings of claim 1, wherein the first television receiver is configuredto implement a particular power savings configuration for eachtelevision receiver of a plurality of television receivers within thehome network, the plurality of television receivers comprising the firsttelevision receiver and the second television receiver.
 3. The methodfor enabling peak time power savings of claim 1, wherein the firsttelevision receiver operates in conformity with the first operating modeprior to the first time corresponding to the peak usage period.
 4. Themethod for enabling peak time power savings of claim 1, wherein thefirst operating mode is a second power savings mode, the method furthercomprising: selecting, by the first television receiver, the secondpower savings mode from the plurality of operating modes based at leastin part on the indication of the peak usage period; processing, by thefirst television receiver, second configuration information related tothe second power savings mode; and configuring, by the first televisionreceiver, the first television receiver according to the secondconfiguration information related to the second power savings mode,wherein the first television receiver operates in conformity with thesecond power savings mode after the first time corresponding to the peakusage period.
 5. The method for enabling peak time power savings ofclaim 4, further comprising: configuring, by the first televisionreceiver, the first television receiver according to a second operatingmode of the plurality of operating modes at a second time correspondingto the peak usage period after the first time corresponding to the peakusage period, wherein the first television receiver operates inconformity with the second operating mode after the second timecorresponding to the peak usage period.
 6. The method for enabling peaktime power savings of claim 5, wherein the second operating mode is athird power savings mode that is different from the second power savingsmode.
 7. The method for enabling peak time power savings of claim 5,wherein the first television receiver operates in conformity with thesecond operating mode prior to the first time corresponding to the peakusage period.
 8. A television receiver that enables peak time powersavings, the television receiver comprising: one or more processors; anda memory communicatively coupled with and readable by the one or moreprocessors and having stored therein processor-readable instructionswhich, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one ormore processors to: process an indication of a peak usage period,wherein the peak usage period corresponds to television receiver usageof a plurality of television receivers in a media content distributionsystem; select a power savings mode from a plurality of operating modesbased at least in part on the indication of the peak usage period; andcause a second television receiver to be configured according toconfiguration information related to the power savings mode, the secondtelevision receiver to operate in conformity with the power savings modeat a first time corresponding to the peak usage period, wherein thesecond television receiver operates in conformity with the power savingsmode after the first time corresponding to the peak usage period;wherein the television receiver operates in conformity with a firstoperating mode after the first time corresponding to the peak usageperiod, the first operating mode being different from the power savingsmode; and wherein the television receiver and the second televisionreceiver are within a home network.
 9. The television receiver thatenables peak time power savings of claim 8, wherein the televisionreceiver is configured to implement a particular power savingsconfiguration for each television receiver of a plurality of televisionreceivers within the home network, the plurality of television receiverscomprising the television receiver and the second television receiver.10. The television receiver that enables peak time power savings ofclaim 8, wherein the television receiver operates in conformity with thefirst operating mode prior to the first time corresponding to the peakusage period.
 11. The television receiver that enables peak time powersavings of claim 8, wherein the processor-readable instructions furthercause the one or more processors to: select the second power savingsmode from the plurality of operating modes based at least in part on theindication of the peak usage period; process second configurationinformation related to the second power savings mode; and configure thetelevision receiver according to the second configuration informationrelated to the second power savings mode, wherein the televisionreceiver operates in conformity with the second power savings mode afterthe first time corresponding to the peak usage period.
 12. Thetelevision receiver that enables peak time power savings of claim 11,wherein the processor-readable instructions further cause the one ormore processors to: configure the television receiver according to asecond operating mode of the plurality of operating modes at a secondtime corresponding to the peak usage period after the first timecorresponding to the peak usage period, wherein the television receiveroperates in conformity with the second operating mode after the secondtime corresponding to the peak usage period.
 13. The television receiverthat enables peak time power savings of claim 12, wherein the secondoperating mode is a third power savings mode that is different from thesecond power savings mode.
 14. The television receiver that enables peaktime power savings of claim 12, wherein the first television receiveroperates in conformity with the second operating mode prior to the firsttime corresponding to the peak usage period.
 15. A non-transitory,processor-readable medium comprising processor-readable instructionswhich, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or moreprocessors to: process an indication of a peak usage period, wherein thepeak usage period corresponds to television receiver usage of aplurality of television receivers in a media content distributionsystem; select a power savings mode from a plurality of operating modesbased at least in part on the indication of the peak usage period; andcause a second television receiver to be configured according toconfiguration information related to the power savings mode, the secondtelevision receiver to operate in conformity with the power savings modeat a first time corresponding to the peak usage period, wherein thesecond television receiver operates in conformity with the power savingsmode after the first time corresponding to the peak usage period;wherein the television receiver operates in conformity with a firstoperating mode after the first time corresponding to the peak usageperiod, the first operating mode being different from the power savingsmode; and wherein the television receiver and the second televisionreceiver are within a home network.
 16. The non-transitory,processor-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the television receiveris configured to implement a particular power savings configuration foreach television receiver of a plurality of television receivers withinthe home network, the plurality of television receivers comprising thetelevision receiver and the second television receiver.
 17. Thenon-transitory, processor-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thetelevision receiver operates in conformity with the first operating modeprior to the first time corresponding to the peak usage period.
 18. Thenon-transitory, processor-readable medium of claim 15, theprocessor-readable instructions further causing the one or moreprocessors to: select the second power savings mode from the pluralityof operating modes based at least in part on the indication of the peakusage period; process second configuration information related to thesecond power savings mode; and configure the television receiveraccording to the second configuration information related to the secondpower savings mode, wherein the television receiver operates inconformity with the second power savings mode after the first timecorresponding to the peak usage period.
 19. The non-transitory,processor-readable medium of claim 18, the processor-readableinstructions further causing the one or more processors to: configurethe television receiver according to a second operating mode of theplurality of operating modes at a second time corresponding to the peakusage period after the first time corresponding to the peak usageperiod, wherein the television receiver operates in conformity with thesecond operating mode after the second time corresponding to the peakusage period.
 20. The non-transitory, processor-readable medium of claim18, wherein the second operating mode is a third power savings mode thatis different from the second power savings mode.